Apple reopens online store in Russia with inflated pricing

It’s been nearly a week since Apple ceased online sales of its goods in Russia due to extreme fluctuations in the value of the local currency, the ruble. An Apple spokesperson at the time said they closed the store to review pricing, a move that has resulted in the reopening of the store today.

Pricing in the store, as you might expect, has been seriously inflated. As Computer World notes, a 16GB iPhone 6 could be had for 39,900 rubles last week before the store shut down. Today, the same iPhone now commands 53,990 rubles which is equivalent to $988 USD.

Apple doesn’t have any official retail stores in Russia although many local resellers and wireless providers carry their gear. Of them, the cheapest for the aforementioned iPhone appears to be 48,990 rubles at the Svyaznoy electronics chain. Doing the math, that’s roughly nine percent cheaper than Apple’s revised price.

To put it all into context, a 16GB iPhone 6 without a contract sells for $649 in the US.

The good news for Apple is that Russia isn’t exactly one of their top markets. According to research firm IDC, only 1.6 million iPhones were sold in the region last year which accounts for just one percent of Apple’s total iPhone sales in 2013.

For those not up to speed, the Russian ruble tanked last week. At one point, it was trading at nearly 80 rubles to the dollar. As of writing, that’s improved to 54.59 rubles to the dollar.